'Raising the Cup' schedule for July 5-9

NHL.com

'Raising the Cup' schedule for July 5-9NHL Network-U.S. begins its special series of Stanley Cup clinchers the week of July 5 by highlighting the 1975-79 clinching games.

Every weekday throughout July and August, the NHL Network-U.S. will air a special series, "35 Years of Stanley Cup Clinchers, 1975-2010." Fans can watch a re-broadcast of Stanley Cup-clinching games from season's past with a chance to vote for their top five contests. Those top five games -- Fans' Choice Encores -- will air from Aug. 23-27.

Two modern-era expansion teams met in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time, as Philadelphia defeated Buffalo in six games. The Sabres had reached the championship series in just their fifth year in the NHL.

Goaltender Bernie Parent's netminding highlighted the series as he allowed only 12 goals in six games and clinched the Cup with a shutout for the second straight year. Parent became the first player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in consecutive years and joined Boston's Bobby Orr as the only players to have won the award twice.

The Montreal Canadiens returned to the Stanley Cup Final after a two-year absence. Guy Lafleur scored his first two goals in the Final and both proved to be game winners as the Canadiens swept Philadelphia to end the Flyers' two-year reign as champions.

Philadelphia's Reggie Leach scored four times in the series to finish the postseason with the all-time record of 19 playoff goals. Leach became the third player on a Stanley Cup Final loser to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup, the Canadiens extended their undefeated streak against Boston in the Final to six straight series.

Jacques Lemaire, who scored three of Montreal's game-winning goals including the Cup-winner in overtime, joined Maurice Richard (3) and Don Raleigh (2) as the only players to record more than one overtime goal in Stanley Cup Final play. Lemaire first scored in overtime against the St. Louis Blues in the 1968 Final, and duplicated the feat in the finale of this series. In Game 2, Ken Dryden posted his fourth shutout of the 1977 playoffs to tie the single-season record shared by five goaltenders.

Guy Lafleur won the Conn Smythe Trophy and also had 9 goals and 17 assists for 26 points in 14 playoff games.Thursday, July 8
1978: Montreal at Boston, Game 6Video Highlights

The Montreal Canadiens lost just 10 regular-season games in 1977-78 and were favored in the postseason. The Habs needed nine games to reach the Final, where they again met Boston in a rematch of the 1977 series. The Bruins also needed just nine games to advance, winning three overtime games en route to a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.

Conn Smythe Trophy winner Larry Robinson led all playoff performers with 17 assists and tied teammate Guy Lafleur (10 goals, 11 assists) for the overall playoff scoring lead with 21 points. Robinson was one of three Canadiens, including Doug Jarvis and Steve Shutt, to appear in all 95 games during the course of the season.

The Montreal Canadiens captured their fourth straight Stanley Cup championship to record the second longest streak of championships in NHL history. Only the Canadiens' five-year stronghold on the Cup from 1955-56 to 1959-60 lasted longer.

Montreal's Game Five series-winning effort also marked the first time since 1968 that the Canadiens won the Cup on home ice. At the conclusion of the series, Jacques Lemaire, Yvan Cournoyer and Ken Dryden retired from the NHL. The trio left the game with a combined total of 24 Cup victories among them. Scotty Bowman, who had amassed his fifth Cup title in seven seasons behind the Canadiens bench, also made his farewell appearance with the team as he joined the Buffalo Sabres the following season.